1978 Synthetic Writers - Chapter 496: Anti-deception

As such a large amount of money was involved, Bertolucci quickly called over the big boss, the Englishman Thomas.

"What? Really?"

Thomas was shocked when he heard that Jiang Xian was planning to invest in the group.

After all, Jiang Xian, the screenwriter, is usually a low-key person. Apart from the fact that he often drives a black Volga around, he also dresses very low-key.

Jiang Xian is wearing all branded sportswear, and he looks very fashionable among the Chinese people who are all in black, blue and gray.

"Thank you for your generosity." Thomas hugged Jiang Xian with gratitude.

He is worthy of being the person who single-handedly borrowed 20 million US dollars.

As the big boss, Thomas is much more capable than Bertolucci.

"Jiang, do you know enough about the international film industry?" Thomas asked as he sat down.

"You mean?"

“For example, the commercial operation of a movie, the core of which is distribution.”

"issued?"

The translator at the side shook his head. "If distribution is used as a translation, it can indeed mean release, but what Mr. Thomas wants to say is that in the operating rules of Hollywood, distribution includes both release and promotion."

Thomas smiled and nodded. "It's strange, isn't it? Actually, this has something to do with the operating system of Hollywood. There are three levels in the business world of Hollywood:

At the top are the major studios, including Warner Bros., Disney, Fox, MGM, Columbia Pictures, and Universal. These are the eight major film companies.

There are relatively few companies in the middle level. Those that perform better will be acquired, and those that perform poorly will disappear.

Jiang Xian didn't say anything, but leaned forward slightly, looking as if he was willing to hear more.

"You should know that Hollywood is basically monopolized by the 'Big Eight' film companies. The production of every movie in Hollywood must follow their strict 'producer system'."

"A very disgusting system," Bertolucci interjected.

"Yes."

"I dare not even imagine what The Last Emperor will look like in the end under the influence of this system," Bertolucci said, holding his forehead.

"Bertolucci and I can't stand the 'Big Eight' thing."

Thomas said: "There are actually many filmmakers like us. In order to get rid of the control of the 'Big Eight Film Companies', these people try to raise funds on their own, write their own scripts, and direct their own films. As a result, some ideological films that are completely different from commercial films began to appear on the screen. These are often called 'independent films'."

Jiang Xian had some knowledge of the international film industry before, but it was only a superficial understanding. He only knew one side of the story for many things. After listening to Thomas's complete explanation, he suddenly had a much clearer understanding of things in Hollywood.

It is said that Hollywood experienced McCarthyism and the impact of television in the 50s and 60s, and fell into a long trough. It did not recover until the 70s. New and cutting-edge directors represented by Coppola, Spielberg, George Lucas and others emerged, and the film officially entered the post-Hollywood era.

During this period, Hollywood commercial films became increasingly mature, and the film industry system developed rapidly, gradually reaching a state where "men, women, young and old can watch movies."

It's just that due to the confrontation between the two major camps, it has not spread its tentacles across the world.

When the Soviet Union disintegrated and the socialist camp collapsed in the early 90s, the last obstacle disappeared and Hollywood naturally began to conquer the global market - this is also one of the reasons for the decline of Hong Kong films.

After more than half a century, Hollywood's money-making model or commercial operation has become quite mature and is the standard model that film distributors around the world must learn.

Movies are actually the same as ordinary products. They are given to a channel dealer, who is responsible for distribution.

Once the product is given to you, you just need to find channels and ensure that my products can be sold.

And this cannot be achieved without promotion. Channel dealers must first help promote and build momentum for the film.

With exposure, you can attract the attention of overseas distributors.

Moreover, the film’s screening performance and awards at film festivals will also have a significant impact on its overseas distribution.

Of course, as a film directed by Bertolucci, "The Last Emperor" will definitely have more promotion channels, which I won’t mention here.

After promotion, it will be released.

As for the overseas market, China is still not very mature. Hollywood has already formed an inherent money-making model, which is to distribute overseas through its own branches or partners, and also distribute overseas according to the theater model.

As for the distribution of overseas markets between producers and distributors, there are generally three models:

One is a fixed share, for example, the two parties agree that the producer will receive 40% of the overseas box office revenue and the distributor will receive 60%.

This model provides relatively stable income for producers, as they can basically determine their revenue expectations during the film preparation stage.

For example, when the box office of a movie is below 1000 million US dollars, the producer gets 30% and the distributor gets 70%; when the box office reaches 1000 million to 3000 million US dollars, the producer's share increases to 35%, and the distributor gets 65%; when the box office exceeds 3000 million US dollars, the producer gets 40% and the distributor gets 60%.

In this way, the better the box office of a movie, the higher the share the producer will get, and the risk borne by the distributor will be reduced a lot.

The third method is similar to the first one, and the net income is divided according to the agreed ratio.

In short, no matter which model is used, the ratio is not fixed and the producer and distributor have to negotiate.

The situation is worse for niche art films, as it is difficult to negotiate a higher profit margin.

In addition to the cinema distribution channel, another important distribution channel is videotapes and television.

In the past, the two most important channels for movies were theaters and peripheral products. Not everyone could make money from peripheral products, and the ones that made the most money from peripheral products were "Star Wars" and Disney.

In recent years, as videotape technology has matured, Hollywood has turned its attention to videotapes.

With the efforts of videotape dealers in recent years, videotape rental stores have sprung up all over the United States.

A movie ticket is so expensive, but renting a tape only costs 2-3 dollars, and you can enjoy the movie quietly at home instead of watching it with a group of people in the cinema with the noise of children and unbearable odor. The videotape model was warmly welcomed by Americans.

Another new channel is television.

The technology for converting film to TV tapes was not mature in the past, but it has finally matured now, so two types of channels have emerged.

These pay channels will charge a licensing fee based on a percentage of the box office revenue, such as 50% of the box office.

Most of the owners of pay channels are the "Big Eight Film Companies", after all, they started early.

The other is the free channel. The difference between the free ones and the paid ones is that the free ones have advertisements. Most of the owners of these channels are the "Big Eight Film Companies", and they also charge them a licensing fee and then share the profits with the film companies.

The remaining, relatively small portion of distribution revenue comes from closed-circuit television on airplanes, hotels, hospitals, schools, universities, prisons, and libraries. These channels generally charge a fixed fee or a fee based on the number of views and are a relatively small source of profit.

Thomas said, "We can find distributors to connect with all four channels. If everything goes well, we can even sell a batch of peripheral products of The Last Emperor like we did with Star Wars. As for videotapes, they can make money continuously. Just imagine how much profit there is."

"."

Jiang Xian was indeed moved by what he heard.

But he was calm enough.

But it was still a little difficult to deal with Jiang Xian.

After saying so much, isn't it just that you want to make one "The Last Emperor" seem like there were four "The Last Emperor" movies?Look, our "The Last Emperor" is a very profitable project with huge returns. Just invest your money in it quickly. We guarantee that you will have a lot of money to eat in the future if you follow us.

Who are you fooling?

Don’t we Chinese know that we have our own anti-fraud system?

"$1200 million."

Thomas made his offer, “Trust me, you won’t regret it.”

"too expensive."

Jiang Xian shook his head, "Thomas, I consider you and Bertolucci as friends, but you have no sincerity at all."

Thomas was mentally prepared. After all, he had worked with Jiang Xian on the script for so long and knew that this guy was a tough opponent.

"Jiang, you really don't understand the market for international films."

"I know you are short of money, that's enough."

Jiang Xian said:“Is The Last Emperor really that valuable? If you release it, how much commission can you negotiate with the publisher?40%?

20%?

They will exploit you severely!

"The Last Emperor" is not a commercial film!

This is an 'independent film'!You two foreigners come to China, make a movie about ancient Chinese emperors, and then show it to European and American audiences.

Can you take the initiative in negotiations?I don’t think so!You said you can find four distribution channels for this movie, but can the addition of the four distribution channels be compared to the multiplication of the profit sharing ratio?

You planned very well.

But at the end of the day, if the movie doesn't do well, won't I have to go bankrupt along with the two of you?

Risk! Risk!Risks also cost money! ”

Thomas stared at Jiang Xian in shock for a while.

His first reaction was: How come you are so familiar with this? Don't you Chinese rarely release films overseas? How come you, who grew up in socialism, know so much about what we do in Europe and America?"Cough cough."

Thomas coughed a few times. "Don't you have confidence in your script?"

"We Chinese people always say that brothers should settle accounts clearly. Just because I have confidence in my script, should I help you take the risk? Tui, you guys are treating me like a Japanese!"

Thomas was confused. "Jiang, your worries are unnecessary. We have the pre-sale results of the film as a guarantee. We can also take a greater initiative in the negotiations with the distributor. You can rest assured about this."

"If the pre-sale results of the film were so convincing, the insurance company wouldn't send supervisors to keep an eye on you."

Jiang Xian looked stern and impartial. "Besides, we still don't know what your pre-sales are all about. Can I guarantee that this result is true? Maybe you guys pre-sold it yourself and then bought the pre-sale results at the theaters. You can get a loan of more than 2000 million US dollars by investing a little money. If it were me, I would do the same."

"What the hell?"

Is this right?How do you know these things?

Although Thomas knew that Jiang Xian was a difficult person, he was confident that he could defeat Jiang Xian.

As a legendary producer, he was able to single-handedly borrow more than 20 million US dollars from five European banks.

Therefore, there are definitely not many opponents that Thomas can take seriously.

Therefore, in his conversation with Jiang Xian, he always held an attitude of a superior treating an inferior, and did not regard Jiang Xian as an opponent of equal strength to himself.

As negotiations proceed.

Thomas felt something was wrong.

The insights revealed by Jiang Xian constantly refreshed Thomas's judgment of this Chinese man.

(End of this chapter)